Art Icons Hit the Whitney for Amy Sherald’s ‘American Sublime’

Amy Sherald and Law Roach at Tuesday’s celebration dinner. Tiffany Sage/BFA.com

A full-blown army of art world elites stormed the Whitney this past Tuesday and Wednesday to toast “Amy Sherald: American Sublime,” which opens in New York on April 9 and, as Observer noted when we covered the exhibition at SFMOMA, is the most comprehensive showing of her work to date. There’s no arguing that Sherald has carved out one hell of a niche for herself in contemporary American realism and figuration; the exhibition brings together close to fifty paintings spanning from 2007 to the present, including early works almost never exhibited publicly and a new painting created just for the show alongside her iconic portraits of First Lady Michelle Obama and Breonna Taylor.

But let’s talk about the real spectacle: the guest lists. Revelers there to bask in Sherald’s success converged on the museum from the worlds of art, media, fashion and philanthropy. On Tuesday, a D.J. set the mood as invitees gathered on the fifth floor to admire the works in “American Sublime” before heading down to the museum’s lobby for a sit-down repast made all the more magical by Amy Sherald herself getting on the mic to share tidbits about her life and career. Notable faces included artists Rashid Johnson, Glenn Ligon, Chase Hall, Calida Rawles, Jordan Casteel and Theaster Gates, among many others; choreographers Kyle Abraham and Bill T. Jones; TV host and producer Padma Lakshmi; stylist Law Roach; superstar museum director Thelma Golden; arts supporter and philanthropist Darren Walker and a host of curators, patrons and art enthusiasts.

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The celebration continued on Wednesday at the opening party, which also began with a sneak peek at the exhibition—this time with a special bonus preview of “Marina Zurkow: Parting Worlds,” “Mary Heilmann: Long Line” and “Collection View: Louise Nevelson,” which also open next week. Unsurprisingly, there were a lot of the same faces in the second-night crowd (the only thing better than hobnobbing at the Whitney is doing it twice in one week), but plenty of novel notables, too. Among the artists were Marilyn Minter, Sharon Sprung, Bo Bartlett, Miles Greenberg, Marina Zurkow and again, many more; TV icon Fran Drescher was her usual ebullient self at the step-and-repeat; the 2024 Whitney Biennial curators Chrissie Iles and Meg Onli made the rounds; Cynthia Rowley was looking amazing; and killing it, as per usual was producer Jordan Roth. Even cooler? Sherald’s models Arewà Basit, Denzel Mitchell, Jr. and Candice Hoyes were spotted posing with their portraits.